Baseball Earns Sixth-Consecutive NCAA Regional Bid
May 26, 2003 | Baseball
May 26, 2003
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University claimed its sixth consecutive NCAA Regional bid on Monday as the NCAA Selection Committee announced the Green Wave would be the No. 2 seed in the 2003 Baton Rouge Regional, hosted by LSU.
Tulane (43-17) is one of four Conference USA schools and four teams for the state of Louisiana to earn bids to the NCAA postseason. The Green Wave will battle third-seeded UNC-Wilmington on Friday at 7 p.m. at Alex Box Stadium. Other teams in the Baton Rouge Regional are LSU and No. 4 seed Northeastern.
Joining the Green Wave in the NCAAs from C-USA are fellow No. 2 seed Southern Miss in the Hattiesburg Regional, Houston - the No. 3 seed in the College Station Regional - and No. 3 seed East Carolina at the Atlanta Regional. Other state schools earning bids to the field of 64 are Southern, the No. 3 seed in Hattiesburg, and McNeese State, the No. 4 seed at the Houston Regional.
The berth into the NCAA Regionals marks the eighth time under 10th year head coach Rick Jones that Tulane advanced to the postseason, including a College World Series appearance in 2001. The trip to Baton Rouge will be the seventh trip to LSU for the Green Wave, and Tulane is 8-16 in the postseason at Alex Box Stadium.
Tulane's first round matchup provides an interesting sidebar as Jones - a 1975 graduate of UNC-Wilmington - was a member of the Seahawk's last postseason team in 1975 when the team advanced to the NAIA College World Series. The Green Wave has never played UNC-Wilmington or possible second-round opponent Northeastern in baseball.
Tulane and LSU, on the other hand, are more than familiar with each other after meeting 281 times prior to the 2003 Regional. The Tigers hold a 159-119-3 advantage in the overall series, but Tulane is 12-14 against LSU under Jones. In the past three years, Tulane is 9-5 against LSU, including a 2-1 regular-season series victory this season.
TICKET INFORMATION: For Tulane University's ticket allotment, ticket orders will accepted on Tuesday, May 27only from baseball season ticket holders and Tulane Athletics Fund members at the $ 250 level and above only. Baseball season ticket holders may apply for one ticket per season ticket held with a maximum of two. TAF members may apply for one ticket for every $ 250 level of contribution with a maximum two as well. A lottery will be conducted on Wednesday morning if the number of orders exceeds the number of tickets available. Tickets are available to the general public by calling the LSU ticket office at 1-800-960-8587 starting Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m.
2003 Baton Rouge Regional Bracket
Friday, May 30Game 1: No. 1 LSU vs. No. 4 Northeastern, 2 p.m.Game 2: No. 2 Tulane vs. No. 3 UNC-Wilmington, 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 31Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
Sunday, June 1Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5Game 7: Same Teams Play If Necessary
